Quick-action clamp



E. H. M MILLAN QUICK ACTION CLAMP March 1 1927. 1,619,144

Filed Dec. 51, 1925 gwuemtoz r wedge cannot be accidentally lost butwhereby the-wedge may be, if desired, removed;

Patented Mar. 1, 1927.

' UNITED i STA'TES" PATENT" 'OF FICIE.

EDWARD H. MC'MILLAN, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

QUICK-ACTION CLAMP.

Application filed December '31, 1925. Serial No. 78,637.

This invention relates to clamps such as are used in applying orfastening'a curb iron to a curb form in concrete construction or otherconcrete work and particularly to a quick action clamp.

I An object of the invention is to provide- I a very simplequick actingclamp which is cheap to manufacture, which may be readily applied andremoved, and which will not 'haveany parts thereon which can beseriouslyalfected by the cement after it has hardened, as is the case withthecoinnion screw clamp ordinarily used for holding curb irons in placeagainst curb forms. 1

A further object is to provide a device of this kind including a wedgewhereby the clamp may beplaced in operative engagement with the curbiron and curbform, and provide means whereby this wedge is so connectedto the body" of the clamp that the l/Iy invention is illustrated in theaccomconcrete curbs.

panying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view throuing device applied thereto r Figure 2 is a side elevation of the outsidemold wall and clamping device;

Figure 3 top plan view of the structure shown in Figure 2; 1

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the ha curbing mold showingmy'clainpwedge. p p I V Referring to this drawing, it will be seen thatI have illustrated the formsfor making These forms consist of the innerforin'10 and the outer form 11. Disposed against this outer form" 11" onthe inside face thereof adjacent the upper edge is a curb iron 12, andan anchor bolt 13 has its head engaged with this protecting iron 12 andextends laterally therefrom and is then downwardly bent so as toextend'into' the space betweenthe curb forms l'O-land '11 and which isfilled with t-heconcrete 1 1. The

lower edge of the outer curb form 11 is' downwardlyand outwardlycurved,as at 15,

so as to form the rounded gutter of the curb of aclamp formed of a bodywhich is approximately U-shaped in cross section and comprises thestraight transverse bar 16 and the downwardly extending leg 17 on theinside end of this bar. This leg is adapted to bear against the upperoutside face 18 of the part 12. The opposite end of the body- 15 formedwith the downwardly extending leg 19 which at its lower end is inwardlybent, that is, the extremity 20 is bent toward the opposite leg 17. Thuswhen this clamp is placed over the top of a form 11, a rec tangularspace will be formed between the bodyof the clamp, the leg 19, theinwardly turned portion 20, and the form, and in this rectangular spacea wedge 21 is adapted to be driven. This wedge may be of any suit ablematerial as, for instance, hard wood. As this wedge is driven inward itdraws the clamp laterally and draws the leg 17 against I the iron 12,holding this iron in proper position against the form and with relationto the concrete so that when the form 11 is withdrawn after the concretehas hardened, this curb iron 12 will be disposed in place at-the upperoutside corner of the curbing 14:.

In order to prevent the accidental loss of the wedge 21, I haveillustrated the under face of the wedge 21 as formed with alongitudinally extending slot '22 which is less in length than the totallength of the wedge,

and I have illustrated the inwardly turned extremity 20 as beingscrew-threaded for the passage of a withdrawable pin in the form of ascrew 23 which screws into the screwthreaded opening in the portion 20and has a rounded extremity which fits within the groove 22. Thus whenthis screw is turned up it Wlll extend into the groove 22 and willprevent this wedge in any way being, re-

moved even when the clamp is detached'from the form 11'. This'preventsthe wedge frombeing lost and renders it a unit with the clamp 16. y a pIn the use of this. device, after a form has been placed, the iron 12isdisposed at the clamps are then turned upward so that the leg 17 jamsthe plate or iron 12 against the inside face of the form' and holdsitfirmly in place. The clamp 16, inasmuch as it rests upon the upper faceof the form 11, constitutes a stop which aidsin positioning the curbiron 12 inasmuch as this curb iron may upper inner corner of the forrnand held in Y place by means of a plurality ofthe clamps formed of theportions 16, 17 and 19. These 2 be forced upward until its u per edgeengages with the clam 16 and t en the clamp may be locked by riving inthe wedge so that no particular skill need be used in placing the curbirons and roperly positioning them with relation to the curb. Of course,when the wedge becomes worn or should be come broken or it be desired toremove the wedge for any reason, the screw 23 may be released and thewedge taken out and a new one replaced, but normally this screw holdsthe wedge from detachment and at the same time allows it freelongitudinal movement to a suflicient degree to cause the tightening ofthe clamp. The leg 19 has its inside face inclined complementarily tothe inclined face ward.

of the wedge 21. Preferably this wedge has its inclined face disposed ata relatively great degree of inclination so as to secure rapid actionwhen the wedge is forced in It will be seen that this device isinexpensiveto make, that it may be quickly adjusted to suit the work,that it is easily and quickly applied or removed, that it isparticularly eflicient as a holding means, and that it is easily keptclean. Further it will be noted that it is of such construction that itwill not mar the finished work and that there is no part which isseriously affected by any hard ened cement. Common screw clamps areordinarily used for this purpose and these plied to holding a curb ironto a curb mold,

I do not wish to be limited to this use of the device as it might beused for other purposes. Neither do I wish to be limited to the exactdetails of construction as illustrated. as these might be changed andmodified in many minor ways without departing from the spirit of theinvention asudefincd in the appended claims. 1 y y I claim 3 i 1. Aclamp for the purpose described in cluding abody having an inner,downwardly extending leg and an outer downwardly extending leg, awedgedisposed inward of the of the longitudinal movement of the wedge.

2. A clamp of the character described ineluding a body having adownwardly extending leg on its inner end and a downwardly extending legon its outer end, the lower end of this leg being inwardly turned towardthe first named leg, a wedge disposed immediately above this inwardlyturned end and between it and the bod or the clamp, the

wedge having a longitu inally extending recess, and a pin carried by theclamp and ex tending into said recess, the recess being less in lengththan the wedge.

3. A clamp of the character described comprising a straight body adaptedto be dis posed upon the top of a mold board and having at one end adownwardly extending leg, the opposite end of the body having adownwardly extending leg, the lower extremity of which is inwardlyturned toward the first named le :1 screw-threaded pin extending upwardtirough said inwardly turned extremity, and a wedge disposed between theinwardly turned extremity and the body of the clamp and bearing againstthe adjacent leg, said wedge having a longitudinally extending grooveless in lengththan the wedge and closed at its opposite ends into whichsaid pin extends.

4. A clamping scribed including a clamping body adapted to extend'overand embrace a mold board and a curb iron, a wedge operatively engagingsaid body and adapted-toengage the outer face of the mold board and whendriven home urging the curb iron against the mold board, the wedgebeingformed with a longitudinally extending recess, and the body of theclamp havingapin engaging said rccess. the recess being less in lengththan the length of the wedge. said pin and wedge permitting freelongitudinal movement of thewedge but holdingthe wedge againstaccidental displacement from the body of the clamp.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature. a y

. EDWARD H. MoMILLAN.

device the character de-

